


Things Could Have Been Different For Us

by DarkCellar



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Darth Tantrum and his Evil Space Ginger, Developing Relationship, Drinking & Talking, Drunken Flirting, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Ending, Gay Male Character, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Romantic Fluff, Short & Sweet, Short Story, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-12 23:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16005200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkCellar/pseuds/DarkCellar
Summary: All work and no play can drive a man insane, as the old proverb goes. So one evening, after a group of First Order Officers, led by Kylo Ren and General Hux, comes back from a battle, it’s suggestrd that they stop for a bit at a cantina, to unwind and relax a bit.Kylo Ren is reluctant to indulge this idea, but ultimately agrees. Yet it’s only when a drunken member of The First Order begins flirting with him, that Kylo’s evening takes a turn in an unexpected direction.





	Things Could Have Been Different For Us

“Well, hello there.”

Kylo turned around on the stool, and was a bit surprised to see that Hux had taken the seat next to him. Odd, how he could manage to get himself across the room, after all the liquor he had ingested.

The two were here at this large, dusky Cantina on one of the First Order’s conquered planets, Ryloth, home to the Twilek species. They had stopped here on the suggestion of one of the lieutenants, to celebrate the hard-won battle they were just coming back from.

Kylo Ren, enforcer of the Order, would have just preferred to go straight home. Having fun and socializing wasn’t really a part of his personality; he preferred his quiet solitude.

But his co-Commander, General Hux, has insisted upon him joining the rest of the officers, bringing up Supreme Leader Snoke’s past lectures on the importance of bonding with one’s men. Kylo, not in the mood to argue, had simply nodded and followed the redhead off of the ship, and into the bright lights of the Cantina.

He had picked a stool at the very far end of the bar, positioning himself so that he had an eye on the entire room, as well as the exits. The men seemed to be having a good time; perhaps a little TOO good, as one or more of the poor Twilek hostesses had to clean broken glass and spills from those who got drunk quicker than the others.

Kylo himself wasn’t much of a drinker; he was coming up on the last few sips of his iced tea, and had been about to order another, when Hux caught him off-guard.

“Hux, we’ve been here for at least two hours. I think it’s about time we got back to base, wouldn’t you say? You round up the people in here, I’ll go around and rout out those in the refreshers and —“

“So do you come here often?”

Kylo blinked, unsure of what Hux meant by that. 

“What are you talking about? Did you hear anything I just said?”

Leaning closer, and with a grin on his face, Hux went on: “I’m not trying to be forward, but, I LOVE the sound of your voice. I could listen to you talk all evening.”

Kylo tilted his head, confused. He reached out to read Hux’s mind, and was somewhat disturbed to discover that, at the moment, Hux was so intoxicated that he was completely unaware of who he was speaking to.

Was — did that mean, Hux was trying to ... to _flirt_ , with him?

As if to further confirm his theory, Hux reached out, put a hand on his shoulder, and drawled,

“I’ll buy you a drink if you tell me your name, handsome.”

Kylo glanced around, to see if anyone else noticed what was happening. So far as he could tell, everyone was preoccupied with their own groups, or with the games being played at various tables. Figuring that there was no harm in indulging Hux (and delighting over how he was going to humiliate him over this tomorrow, when he was sober), Kylo let loose with one of his most charming smiles, and said,

“My name is Ben. Ben Solo.”

Hux picked up Kylo’s hand, and gave it a sloppy, smacking kiss. Kylo could just barely keep from bursting out laughing at the gesture.

“It’s a pleasure, Ben Solo. My name is Armitage Hux. What’ll you have to drink?”

“Surprise me.”

Hux signaled the barkeep and ordered two glasses of Corellian wine. When the glasses were set down, Hux lifted his up, his unsteady hand causing him to spill a bit on the counter, and said,

“Here’s to us.”

Kylo clinked glasses with him and took a sip. Maker; this was STRONG. If this was what Hux had been swilling all evening, it was no wonder he wasn’t in control of himself right now.

“So what do you do, Ben?”

Smirking, Kylo told him, “I’m in training to be a Jedi, actually.”

“Really?!”, Hux half-exclaimed. “That’s impressive. So that means you’re not only gorgeous, but you’re talented, too? Maker, I think I’m in love.”

Kylo laughed outright at that, before taking another sip from his glass.

“That’s very ... sweet, of you, to say. So I take it you’ve never met any Jedis before?”

Hux’s face crinkled up, and he tossed off the rest of his wine in three quick gulps. He signaled the barkeep for another, as he said,

“Just one. _Former_ Jedi, actually. I truly loathe that guy. He’s ... he’s an arrogant asshole.”

Kylo chuckled. 

“Arrogant asshole, eh? Well, I’m afraid not everyone in this galaxy of ours can have the charm that you possess.”

Hux’s eyes brightened, and a grin spread across his face from ear to ear.

“That’s such a kind thing to say. Thank you.”

He downed half of his new wine glass, and tottered a bit in his seat. Kylo knew that he should really be getting him out of here and onto the ship, now, but he was having too much fun to stop.

“So, Ben, again not to be forward, but, I can’t help but notice you were sitting here, all alone. Surely a stunning man such as yourself isn’t here all alone?”

Was Kylo blushing?  
Surely not.

Or, if he WAS, it was likely just a physical side effect to the wine.

“I’m afraid so,” Kylo said, looking down into his glass. “I’m afraid there’s not much to me, past these ‘looks’ you speak of.”

Hux shook his head vehemently. “I disagree. You’re quite clearly intelligent; I could tell that about you right off. Brains are the most tempting quality in a man, to me. The fact that you also look like a template of what an God would look like, well, THAT’S just a pleasant bonus.”

Hux’s hand was on Kylo’s leg now, above his knee, just grazing his thigh. Kylo was surprised at how good that hand felt, and found himself, absurdly, hoping that Hux would move it up higher.

“Are you hitting on me?”

“Trying to. Is it working? Because I’d really like for you to leave here with me.”

Now Hux DID inch his hand up higher, and goosebumps broke out all over Kylo’s body, making him involuntarily shiver.

“That depends. If I let you take me out of here, what would you _do_ with me?”

Hux leaned closer, cupped his hand around Kylo’s ear, and began whispering things into it that turned Kylo’s face a bright, fiery red. He had had NO idea that Hux knew language like what he was using right now, or that he could be so ... so _descriptive_ with his words.

It left Kylo feeling confused, not any less so than the strong, wholly unfamiliar stirring that was flooding his loins right now.

Hux pulled away, and said, in a lower voice,

“What do you think? Does that sound good to you?”

Before he could stop himself, before he could control it, Kylo was pulling Hux back to him, and laying into him with a series of sensual, passionate kisses. Everything else fell away from his mind; the fact that this was HUX, the fact that they were in a public setting where subordinates and coworkers could SEE what they were doing, the fact that 30 minutes ago his dislike of Hux had been so strong that he could have seen him gunned down without batting an eyelash ...

All that remained, was _desire_.

Desire so overpowering, so consuming that it was like being possessed by somebody else entirely.

Kylo’s mind was spinning, racing, frantically thinking up possible ways to get Hux and himself back on the ship, and into one of the spare bunk-rooms, without being seen.

When it was time to come up for air, Kylo separated himself from the redhead, panting. But just as he was about to lean back in and kiss him again ...

... Hux’s eyes flickered, then closed, and he pitched forward in Kylo’s direction. Kylo just barely caught him before he hit the floor, and, sighing, picked him up and slung him across his broad shoulders.

He stopped to speak to the Captain sitting near the door, telling him to round up the men and get them back to the ship. Then he carried Hux through the door, down the path and up the ramp, onto the ship. He took him down to Hux’s office, where he knew there was a small cot. He set it up and then laid Hux on it, as gently as possible. 

He stood looking down on him snoring, for the longest time.

What in the kriff had HAPPENED, tonight?  
And what had ALMOST happened?

After ensuring that everybody else was back onboard, and giving the ok for liftoff, he went to his own on-ship chambers. He intended to meditate, to and try and clear his head over the events of the evening. Yet as soon as he sat down, he could hear the sound of two officers passing by his door, obviously still a bit tipsy themselves, and speaking slightly louder than normal.

“So the General was pulling that tired old trick of his again, huh?”

Kylo immediately leaned closer to the door.  
What trick?

“Aye,” answered the Captain, a chuckle in his voice. “I wonder how much he pays the cantina owners to keep giving him colored water like that?”

“Who knows? Honestly, I’m just surprised that he went after Lord Ren tonight. That’s bold, even for Hux.”

“What’s more surprising is that, apparently, he didn’t follow it all the way through. Rutherland told me he acted as though he’d passed out, and I saw Lord Ren carry him back to the ship and put him in his office bunk.”

“Huh. I wonder what —“

But Kylo tunes out their conversation after that. He sat back in his chair, so confused that he didn’t know how to handle it.

Hux ... he had been faking, being drunk?  
But WHY?  
For what purpose?

The way the two officers were talking made Kylo deduce that Hux had done this same act before, with others before Kylo. It was also apparent that he’d carried his act far enough to engage in some form of physical pleasures with his previous intended targets ... but he had stopped himself before letting it go that far with Kylo. Not only that, he had been smart enough to know that Kylo would attempt to read his mind, and therefore purposely filled it with false thoughts.

Again, _why_?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Kylo waited until the hallways were clear, and then he marched himself back to Hux’s office. He took out his made several large slashes through the door, before kicking it off of its axis entirely.

As he’d expected, Hux was now sitting at his desk, wide awake, looking perfectly fine.

He jumped up in alarm when Kylo stormed in, looking both scared, and embarrassed.

“Ren ... what ...”

Kylo pointed his saber at him angrily. 

Sit. Down.”, he demanded, through clenched teeth. Hux did as he was told.

“I heard some of the men talking. You weren’t drunk at all, you lying piece of bantha poodoo. The way you were touching me, those ... those things you said; you knew exactly what you were doing the entire time! Do you think I’m something to be toyed with? Do you think I take kindly to beimg deceived?”

Before Hux could answer, Kylo took his saber and sliced clean through Hux’s desk. Hux put up his hands defensively, but made no move to run.

Calming himself just the slightest bit, Kylo went on,

“And I don’t know what bothers me the most here, Hux. The fact that I _believed_ all the complimentary things you told me? Or the fact that you evidently don’t think I’m good enough to carry out your plan in it’s entirety, with me.”

He stopped speaking and stood staring at Hux, waiting for a reply. Hux, looking down at his hands, finally opened his mouth and said, softly,

“Please, let me explain, Ren. Yes, it’s true I’ve done this before. But I don’t do it out of malice; romantically, I’m a shy person, and for others to think I’m drunk helps put myself, and them, at ease. And ... and yes, I was going to do this to you, too. But again, there was no ill-will in my intentions. I’ve ... I’ve fancied the idea of getting to know you, on a more intimate level, for quite some time. But you seem to despise me so, that I felt I had no other choice than to fall back into my old habits, in an attempt to procure your company.”

“But ... you didn’t go through with it?”

Looking him in the eye for the first time, Hux went on,

“No. When ... when you kissed me like that, well, you changed my mind. It was so sincere, so beautiful ... I couldn’t just use you for sex. So I pretended to pass out, so it wouldn’t get that far.”

Kylo sighed, and sat down gingerly on the splintered remains of the desk. “If you really felt something for me before this ... I wish you had told me so. Granted, I can understand why you didn’t; I’m told I can be a difficult man to talk to. But maybe, I don’t know, things could have been different for us.”

Slowly, hesitantly, Hux slid out of his chair and sat beside Kylo on top of the broken wood. Gathering all of his courage, he reached over and took hold of Kylo’s hand, gently pressing on his fingers.

“Maybe it’s not too late.”

After several very long moments of contemplation, Kylo smiled, and he squeezed Hux’s hand back.

“Maybe ... you’re right.”

“What if, in the morning, you came and had breakfast with me, in my chambers? It’ll give us a chance to be alone, and to talk.”

Looking up at him, Kylo asked, with a playful smirk,

“Will there be bantha bacon?”

“There’ll be anything you like. All you have to do is come. Do we have a deal?”

Kylo leaned over and very, very softly kissed Hux’s cheek. 

“Deal.”

He stood up and said, almost shyly,

“I’ll be going back to my chambers, then. I’ll come back at 0800.”

“I’ll be ready. Goodnight ... Kylo.”

“Goodnight, Hux.”


End file.
